Microbial Changes Associated With Oral Cavity Cancer Progression.

16S rRNA sequencing demonstrated changes in bacterial populations in oral cavity cancer and its progression compared to noncancer controls. We found increases in bacteria genera that correspond with tumor stage-Fusobacteria, Peptostreptococcus, Parvimonas, Neisseria, and Treponema. These data suggest that oral cancer creates an environment to facilitate foreign bacterial growth, rather than implicating a specific bacterial species in carcinogenesis. These bacteria can be employed as a potential marker for tumor progression or interrogated to better characterize the tumor microenvironment.